How to upgrade my laptop hard disk
How I did it: When I bought my ibook G4 second hand it had only a 30GB hard disk. This was fine as it was going to be a home from home machine and it would only be used for low level work - nothing too demanding. But when I recently installed the latest operating system, Leopard Mac OSX 10.5.4 much of the space got used up. Being home from home also meant that I needed to have access to other files and carrying an external drive with me wasn't always practical.
So I bought an IDE drive on ebay brand new and sealed for only 39.99 GBP and then pondered on how I would install it. I read through a few blog articles and tutorials on YouTube to see what would be involved and what tools I'd need. I then got hold of the tools from my local pound shop and then read through the tutorials many times. I wrote down the steps that I needed to take and allocated a time when I could do it without being disturbed. Late at night when the baby was asleep.
With coffee at the ready I got all the tools to hand and then got the tutorial pictures up on my desktop computer screen. The one I used had 57 steps! I got about halfway to being able to access the hard drive when I found a screw that I just could not budge. I went to bed and left it. I wondered if I should give up or try another way.
My very flimsy Philips 00 screwdriver had broken off and the following stages of the process required that very tool. So I got out my electric screwdriver and put the broken head into it and voila I could continue. I came across yet another screw that wouldn't budge but it didn't stop me from getting to the drive.
When I got to the drive I found to my surprise that I one I had bought was the same make so that gave me a real confidence boost. I had already formatted and partioned the new drive with Disk Utility using my external drive enclosure so it was just a case of installing the OS. I did think about using Carbon Copy Cloner but I wanted to have a fresh start.
I put the machine back together ruining a few screws in the process. But I had placed all of them carefully on a sheet of white paper with pencil marked guides so I knew where they had to go.
Now it was time for the software. I installed Leopard then the Software Update. Downloaded and installed various apps such as Firefox and Thunderbird. And decided to go with as few apps as possible rather than have a selection. So one browser, one text editor, one FTP tool etc.
With all the software set up and the preferences tweaked which I did in a leisurely manner over the course of a week, next it was time for my data. That was fast. A firewire cable and the laptop in Target Disk Mode and there it was.
Job done. Breathe huge sigh of relief. Gently pat laptop.
Lessons & tips: This was my first time so you can imagine I was nervous. The best advice I can give is that it will take a bit longer than you imagine and to get some decent tools. Especially the Philips 00. Have the whole process clear in your mind or better still written down as a series of steps.
If you get frustrated or in a state then take a break or you'll break it.
Read all the tutorials carefully. There are some stages in the process where I would not have known that if I wasn't careful I could have damaged something.
Have a go. You'll feel so proud of yourself when you've done it.
Resources: My best resource was this one
http://ifixit.com
If you just do a Google search for "ibook hard drive upgrade" then you'll get lots of good articles.
Of course it goes without saying that you won't be able to use your computer when you're taking it to pieces so you'll need another one or have to print the tutorial pictures out in advance.
